When newscasts of a J-15 jet landing and launching on the Liaoning hit airwaves, a curious thing happened.

Instead of marveling at the technology involved, China appears to have latched onto the two deckhands seen in videos.

The yellow-jacketed duo are giving a pilot hand signals, crouching low and extending their right arms in a "shooting" motion.

China Daily reports the Chinese people are performing a gushing tribute by taking photos of themselves in the pose and posting them online.

"Although the gesture has often been seen in movies, I couldn't restrain my excitement the first time I saw it used to instruct a fighter jet to land and take off from China's first aircraft carrier," journalist Han Lu told China Daily.